...an interesting response to the common notion, via the analogy of the blind men and the elephant, that God can be known from many different angles. The exception is the person that "sees" and thereby with authority makes declaritive statements about God. Of course this points to the uniqueness of Jesus with some reasonable validity.

Current Trends That Will Continue Indefinitely???

The Times's star columnist Thomas Friedman is making hay this season with his new book, The World is Flat, about the global economy. His book asserts that current trends will continue indefinitely - China will continue to manufacture ever more of America's household products, Americans will continue to enjoy cash-out home equity loans to buy plastic patio chairs made in China, WalMart will keep running its warehouse-on-wheels at a thumping great profit, and all impediments to global trade will be vanquished by telemarketing, computer technology, and confident corporate can-do spirits. I am tempted to ask how Friedman manages to type on a laptop with his head so far up his ass, but this blog is dedicated, above all, to a high-minded brand of politeness so we'll just say that he is not paying attention to a gathering global energy shitstorm that is going to change absolutely everything -- including global economic relations which pundits foolishly maintain to be permanent conditions of life.

[This cultural critique captured from James Howard Kunstler - author of the Clusterfuck Nation Chronicle - a thoughtful, well-written blog.]

How to Mess Up a Town

The knowledge necessary to build really great towns that people would delight to live and work in, was fully in place, was fully possessed by Americans in our grandparents' day. We have thrown it all into the garbage can.

Having studied good user-interface design in software, it's interesting to know that even towns can be designed with good (or bad) interface design. It's amazing how moronic engineers and designers can be!

For instance, a few years ago when the great mall incursion began, Saratoga Springs, New York decided to "fight back" by installing Victorianoid lampposts and street benches on Broadway. Only they made one slight mistake with the benches. They bolted them into the outside edge of the sidewalks facing toward traffic. This fundamental error in thinking that people sit outdoors to watch cars, not other people, illustrates the pathetic level of civic art as it is practiced here. To make matters worse, the original problem has become incorrectable. As recently as this April, members of the Downtown Business Association begged the Department of Public Works to move the benches around so they faced the sidewalk, and the DPW refused on the grounds that sitters might extend their legs and trip pedestrians!

Amazing! Be sure to read more on the subject.

Rachel Escobar - A Star is Born!

...the last I really remember Rachel Escobar she was a little girl in grade school with long curly hair down to her butt (her mom's a hair-dresser - best friends with my wife) and cute as a button. Now she's just gorgeous and is singing for the public and well loved I might add. Be sure and vote for her if time permits.... and listen to her video performance - it's very good!

Barcelona's Human Castles

...listening to the BBC yesterday coming home from work and heard about this old Catalan tradition called "Human Castles".... amazing... check out the pictures.

Texas Department of Public Safety - Courtesy, Service, Protection

...a close friend of mine ;) just discovered The Driver Responsibility Law (TRC Chapter 708). As he puts it....

...well basically, my license unbeknownst to me was suspended..... the officer informed me of this after he gave me the speeding ticket and before he handcuffed me and took me to county jail.... turns out a "surcharge" had been added to a ticket of mine 2 years ago... I paid the ticket ok, but they somehow weren't able to inform me of the new law with the surcharge which I was supposed to pay.



shorter version:

arrested for not paying a $250.00 tax added to an old ticket by a new law.

He spent a week being driven to work and to various DPS agency centers and $750 to get his license again. The Texas State trooper [named officer Bristow] also took his license after taking him to jail. He spent the day stripped down to his socks and basic clothes in a cement cell with several other "criminals" of various sorts. He still has to face trial and probably hire a lawyer to pay for his hideous crime of driving while his license was suspended. The DPS clerks said a notice was probably mailed to an old address which, by law, cannot be forwarded to his present address.



Crime fit the punishment? Courtesy, Service, Protection? hmmmmm....

Human Nature intensifies during Hard Times - for Good or Bad

'The truth is, a terrible tragedy like this brings out the best in most people, brings out the worst in some people', said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.



...reminds me of the philosopher Viktor Frankl who discovered this truth (?) after living through the Nazi concentration camps. Frankl ultimately believed that man is free to choose his own behavior and that extreme environments is what pushes him to make these choices.



...ultimately the history and habits of a man's choices reveals his character development - whether concentration camps or natural disasters.



...in times like these we get to see individuals for who they are. It is not necessarily a reflection of human nature itself or society in general, but only the freedoms and nature of the individuals themselves...



....so stop saying, "Wow, can you believe people would do that stuff ? [e.g. shoot at helicopters during rescuers]